A very warm welcome to all students enrolling on the MA Film & Media Production starting in September. You will be joining our vibrant student community in the School of Creative Arts and Industries. The School offers a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Our dynamic teaching team involves experts from a range of academic and professional backgrounds who are engaged in national and international research activities. We maintain close links with networks of local and international organisations including with the Canterbury Festival, the Canterbury Cathedral, Turner Contemporary, Screen South, Maidstone Studios, and the Marlowe Theatre. We look forward to welcoming you to our School where you will find a warm, intellectually stimulating and professionally relevant experience. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Professor Agnes Gulyas
Course Director

Key dates

Course start date: 16 September 2024

Academic Calendar: Trimesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays. 

Welcome and induction

Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to your course and student life at CCCU, helping you to feel confident and prepared for your studies right from the very start.

It is important to check your Welcome Schedule for all the activities you are required to attend during the week.

If any of your welcome activities are in groups, your course team will contact you before your arrival to let you know which group you will be in.

Your teaching timetable 

UniTimetables provides an overview of all teaching activities on a course. Your individual timetable will be available via MyTimetable and is personalised to show you what modules and groups you are expected to attend.

Your individual student timetable can only be produced once you have engaged with online registration and created your computing account. It is essential you complete these tasks when invited, so that your course team can assign you to your teaching activities and publish your individual timetable.

Find out more about all aspects of timetabling for new students including user guides.

Welcome

We are excited to welcome you onto your MA journey during the week of 16 September with a programme of welcome activities. This series of introductory activities has been designed to help you transition smoothly into university life. You'll receive crucial information to start your studies on the right foot, meet our dedicated staff, connect with your fellow students, and familiarize yourself with the campus.

Once your University IT account has been activated, you will be able to access our resources, including Library resources and relevant software. On our Blackboard pages (virtual learning environment platform) you will be able to find detailed information about your course, as well as about supporting services and opportunities available to you.

At the beginning of your academic programme, you will be assigned to a personal tutor, who will provide you with academic support throughout the course and act as a gateway to support and development services offered elsewhere in the University.

In addition to other exciting activities, you will have access to our Creative Agency, which supports students by providing opportunities to engage in paid projects and develop a portfolio of work essential for preparing for your future career. The Agency also facilitates student collaboration, allowing students to contribute to each other's projects across the School of Creative Arts and Industries. 

Getting started

After welcome week you will begin work on your first three modules that you will study in Trimester 1: Practical Production Skills for Film and Media, Collaborative Practice and Creativity, Culture and Community.

Designed to enhance your practical abilities, project development skills and explore inter-disciplinary interactions, our MA program builds upon students’ existing expertise, developing advanced key skills, concepts and knowledge of film and media pre-production. You will express your creativity through the essential elements of production allowing you to explore your artistic and creative aspirations. The modules you will study will include:

Trimester 1: Practical Production Skills for Film and Media. Here emphasis is placed on those skills, for example camera, lighting, sound, which are relevant to film and media production. Learning takes place through lectures, workshops, and the completion of practical exercises. You will have access to a variety of high-end production equipment to allow you to explore your creativity. Students are normally set individual and group exercises in film and media production, and formative assessment takes the form of feedback sessions on the work completed.

Trimester 2: Pre-Production for Film and Media. This module is where ideas meet realities. You will begin to consider your final projects through script writing and project development. By the end of it you will know in depth and in detail what film you will be preparing and making in the trimester that follows. By Easter it will exist as a professionally scripted document. It will have considered the given parameters of duration, number of shooting days and budget together with the capabilities of available crew and cast.

Trimester 3: Final Project In the final trimester of your course you will have the opportunity to focus on a larger-scale film and media production project. This project can be used to further develop your creative and practical skills, and to build your portfolio, helping you to build a career in film and media production when you graduate.


Pre-course reading

There is no compulsory reading you need to do before you join the course, but as a general catch all text, Bordwell and Thompson’s ‘Film Art’ (McGraw Hill; 13th edition 13 Oct. 2023) is highly recommended. In addition, try to watch as many films as you can, and get into the habit of making your own notes about production techniques and storytelling.

We look forward to welcoming you to our MA modules. Get ready to explore, create, and innovate with us at CCCU!

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.